//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
//	Copyright (c) 1998-2004, Drew Davidson and Luke Blanshard
//  All rights reserved.
//
//	Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
//  modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
//  met:
//
//	Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice,
//  this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
//	Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
//  notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
//  documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
//	Neither the name of the Drew Davidson nor the names of its contributors
//  may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
//  without specific prior written permission.
//
//	THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
//  "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
//  LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS
//  FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
//  COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
//  INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING,
//  BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS
//  OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED
//  AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY,
//  OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF
//  THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
//  DAMAGE.
//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
package org.apache.ibatis.ognl;

import java.lang.reflect.Member;
import java.util.Map;

/**
 * Interface for accessing the type conversion facilities within a context.
 *
 * @author Luke Blanshard (blanshlu@netscape.net)
 * @author Drew Davidson (drew@ognl.org)
 */
public interface TypeConverter {
  /**
   * Converts the given value to a given type.  The OGNL context, target, member and
   * name of property being set are given.  This method should be able to handle
   * conversion in general without any context, target, member or property name specified.
   *
   * @param context      OGNL context under which the conversion is being done
   * @param target       target object in which the property is being set
   * @param member       member (Constructor, Method or Field) being set
   * @param propertyName property name being set
   * @param value        value to be converted
   * @param toType       type to which value is converted
   * @return Converted value of type toType or TypeConverter.NoConversionPossible to indicate that the
   *         conversion was not possible.
   */
  public Object convertValue(Map context, Object target, Member member, String propertyName, Object value, Class toType);
}

